


Paradise Found

by intodusk



Category: We Know the Devil (Visual Novel)
Genre: Canon Gay Relationship, Canon Trans Character, F/F, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-08
Updated: 2016-10-08
Packaged: 2018-08-20 07:07:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8240569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/intodusk/pseuds/intodusk
Summary: In a twice-fallen world, three devils find their thrones together.





	

The closet doors haven’t moved yet. It’s been about ten minutes since Venus sat down on her bed and started staring at them, and since then she hasn’t done much else. If someone were to walk in on her right now it’d seem as though she were trying to open them without touching them (although that sort of thing isn’t _her_ specialty), but really she’s just deep in thought. In half an hour, Jupiter and Neptune are going to pick her up for their date tonight, and in Venus’ closet, there’s a dress that she’s only worn in the safety of her room.

Neptune had taken the two of them along on one of her shopping sprees the other day. Ever the smooth operator, Neptune took the opportunity to buy her girlfriends some gifts, a new bracelet for Jupiter and a lovely sundress for Venus. Of course, this came with the caveat that each of them now owed Neptune a makeout session, a debt both girls were more than happy to accept.

The dress itself is beautiful, a cascade of sky blue fabric with a flattering cut and an above-the-knee skirt that brushes so softly against her thighs when she walks. It looks like so many of the dresses she’d silently coveted when she was younger, the ones she’d seen in magazines and shop windows. In her head and in her heart, Venus is working up the courage to wear it on her date.

It’s not that she doesn’t want to; in fact, she wants to more than anything. It looks great on her and makes her feel especially cute, and wearing it makes the butterflies in her stomach flutter wildly with excitement. But there’s bees in her belly too, the ones that sting with the impact of sharp looks and cutting words, of every awful memory that tears at her self-confidence until the anxiety she’s always holding in comes gushing out.

Finally fed up with all the internal deliberation, Venus puts her foot down, both figuratively in resolving to put on the dress, and literally as she shifts off the bed. Her intestinal ecosystem will simply have to sort itself out, because this Venus isn’t the same scared kid that she used to be. This Venus is going to do whatever it takes to etch herself into the world, and the same fears that chained her down aren’t strong enough to hold her trapped anymore.

She trips over a t-shirt before she reaches the closet. She imagines Neptune saying something along the lines of, “You would think with all those eyes you can sprout you’d be able to watch where you’re walking, sweetie.” Suppressing a little giggle at what’s technically her own joke, she smiles to herself and gets back up.

  


Outside, the sun is lingering in that obnoxious spot where it’s low enough to always be right in your face, but still high enough that the intensity of its rays hasn’t yet started to fade. A perfect combination of obnoxious and relentless. On top of that, summer seems to be going out kicking and screaming, because the last week has been brutally hot. It feels like nature is trying to exact petty vengeance on humanity by making everyone perpetually sweaty and uncomfortable. There are clouds rolling in from the east, but they’re far too late to block out the light and the heat, and there hasn’t been a single cloud cover this month that came by during the night and lasted long enough to see the morning. So, the sun reigns free in its last few hours of daylight, scorching and oppressive.

Underneath the pale blue afternoon sky, a beat-up old sedan with a dent in the fender and a faded red paint job turns down side street after side street to correct a wrong turn. When it’s finally on the street it’s supposed to be on, the sun is sitting right in the middle of Jupiter’s rear-view. “I really should’ve taken a nap or something before this, I’m a total hot mess today,” she whinges half-heartedly as she adjusts the mirror. The wind from her open window makes her hair go flying this way and that, like a fern in a hurricane. The song on the radio she was humming along to fades into static before she switches it off.

“When are you not?” Neptune chuckles, as she taps away on her phone. “Anyways, the term hot mess gets a bad rap. Sometimes the emphasis is on _hot_.” She shoots a glance Jupiter’s way to catch her blushing, then goes back to her phone, smirking.

“Ha! A-ah. In more ways than one, too. I thought we were gonna be done with all this heat after camp. I feel like I’m gonna sweat right through my shirt.” The wind picks up, somehow managing to make Jupiter’s hair even more unkempt as she nervously fans herself with the collar of her beloved olive jacket.

“Well maybe you wouldn’t be sweating so much if you took off that monster of a jacket once in a while.  Actually, no, keep it on tonight. I like my girlfriends wet and stic-”

“ _WE’RE HERE!!_ ” Jupiter veers closer to the curb and slams on the brakes like a getaway driver showing up late. Venus’ place is across the street on their left.

“Jesus, Jupes!” Neptune catches her breath and starts smoothing her hair back into place. “Good thing this hunk of junk still has good seatbelts. You would think with all those-”

Jupiter grabs Neptune by the collar of her top, pulls her in and kisses her the way someone stranded in the desert would suck water out of a cactus. After a few long seconds, she finally breaks away, her breath heavy and her cheeks flushed. Neptune cocks an eyebrow at her and says, “Well hell J, if I’d known it were _that_ easy to get you worked up, I would have at least considered waiting until you weren’t behind the wheel. Not that I’m complaining, of course.”

She shoots Jupiter her most smug, self-satisfied smirk in at least the last few days, and Jupiter closes her eyes, leaning back into her seat and panting quietly. “Ahhh, hahhh… you really are the devil, you know that? You and Venus both. So, so mean to little old me.” She lets out a contented sigh as a slight grin spreads across her face. “Oh, text her that we’re here.”

“No need.” Neptune points out the driver side window. “She came out front when we pulled up.”

Jupiter’s snaps her head to the left to see Venus standing there, her hand half covering her mouth, her lips curled into a big smile and her eyes sparkling like she just saw fireworks. The hem of her dress flutters in the breeze.

“AH! You saw everything didn’t you and oh my god that’s the dress you’re wearing the dress!” She leans out of the open window to get a better look. “Venus, you look so cute!”

“Oh! U-um, thanks! I’m glad you like it.” Now her smile is bashful, but underneath her shyness Venus is visibly elated. Neptune grins at this and snaps a picture with her phone over Jupiter’s shoulder. “I told you it was perfect for you. And also that I am never wrong, ever. Now hop in already, we have an awful movie to catch, and if we miss all the awful trailers, heads are gonna roll.”

Venus climbs into the backseat with a quiet smile on her lips and a fuzzy feeling in her heart, and Jupiter’s clunker takes them on their way.

  


Both the trailers and the movie turn out to be just as awful as they’d hoped. Neptune rips into all the cheesy one-liners, boring characters and clumsy straight romances as they show up, which is to say constantly. Jupiter sits in the middle, holding both of her girlfriends’ hands and squeezing tight during dramatic scenes and action sequences. Venus explains what’s going on when Jupiter asks and giggles at Neptune’s best quips, and wonders to herself if she’s ever felt so carefree before in her life.

  


By the time the three of them leave the theater, the sun has finally begun to set, and the sky over their walk to the nearby ice cream parlor is decorated with streaks of gorgeous color, reds and yellows swirling and melting into a warm orange in the evening sky. Neptune writes a five paragraph blog post about how mind-numbingly dumb the movie was as she walks while Jupiter munches on the last of the popcorn. Venus teases her by pretending to try and steal the bag away, but Jupiter deftly keeps the remaining popcorn out of her reach with one hand and tickles Venus into submission with another. Once a truce is settled, Jupiter finishes off the bag, but not before popping the last piece into Venus’ mouth and grabbing onto her hand. Venus fills up with a warmth that’s soft like the heat from a fireplace, Jupiter’s fingers interlocking with her own and the skirt of her dress flittering in the wind, and her smile gleams like the brilliant rays of light at the edge of the horizon.

They all share a banana split as they chatter and joke about the movie together, talking until the last remnant of sunlight dissipates into the oncoming dusk. Finished, Neptune grabs a napkin and dabs chocolate ice cream off her lip, slides out of the booth, and then breaks out into a violent coughing fit. The fluorescent lights flicker over Venus and Jupiter for a moment as anxiety rapidly ripples across their faces, but just as Jupiter reaches for her, Neptune breaks out into a laugh and says, “I’m fucking with you, I’m just getting up to go redo my makeup.”

Jupiter lets out a heavy sigh as the tension slips out of her posture. Next to her, Venus’ face settles somewhere between a scowl and a pout as she chides Neptune. “Don’t scare us like that!”

Neptune grins. “Wow, throw up horrible black bile _once_ and you can never joke about it ever? What kind of party poopers am I dating?” Venus sticks out her tongue half-playfully, and Neptune sticks hers out right back before heading to the bathroom.

Jupiter still looks pretty anxious, so Venus scoops some strawberry ice cream into her spoon and, holding her other hand underneath, offers it to Jupiter. “I’m sure she’s ok, probably. She’s just being a jerk.”

Jupiter perks up a little as she lets Venus feed her the ice cream, then leans her head onto Venus’ shoulder. Her lips curl into a kittenish grin as she asks, “Whoa Venus, did you just explicitly badmouth someone? For, like, the first time in your life?”

Venus looks down at her lap as she sputters out, “Oh! O-oh, I, um- I didn’t mean-”

“Haha, I know, I know. Don’t worry, I’m just being a jerk myself now.” She smears a little melted vanilla ice cream on her thumb and smudges it on Venus’ cheek. “You’re just so much fun to tease, I can’t help myself.” Venus’ mouth reverts to a moody frown again, but before she can protest or grab a napkin, Jupiter leans up, places a hand on the other side of Venus’ face, and kisses her cheek clean. At this, Venus’ cheeks flush pink and her pout becomes a small, sweet smile.

Jupiter blushes too and says, “I, ah… I really do like this dress on you. Brings out your eyes and stuff.”

Suppressing a giggle, Venus asks, “Was that supposed to be smooth?”

“H-hey! I’m totally smooth! I mean, I managed to get you to date me, didn’t I?”

“Oh, um… that’s true. I guess you’re right, then. You are very, very smooth.”

Venus brings up a hand to fold over Jupiter’s, and with her other hand she smears some more ice cream on her own lips, and Jupiter grins wider and takes her up on her challenge. Clasping her free hand over Venus’ wrist, she leans forward and gets to work. Her kisses are always so intense, even the soft ones. There’s always this underlying fierceness to them, in her striking eyes, in her heavy breathing, in her squeezing hands. It all nearly makes Venus’ heart burst out of her chest, and she can’t help but go a little limp in Jupiter’s grasp.

After quite a bit of “cleaning up,” Jupiter’s pocket begins to buzz. She ignores it until it stops buzzing and continues.

After even more “cleaning up,” her pocket starts buzzing again. She lets out an annoyed sigh and pulls away to check who’s calling her. Then she lets out another, even more exacerbated sigh and says, “Shit, it’s my dad. Sorry Vee, I’m gonna have to take this. I’ll be right back, ok?” Venus nods, half-dazed from all the cleaning, and Jupiter slips out of the booth and heads outside to take the call.

As Venus sits there alone, her head swimming with very pleasant feelings, she takes a minute to really soak up the moment. Her date is going so, so well, and for once she feels well and truly free. Free from everything she was afraid of when she was working up the courage to wear the dress, everything that held her back when she wanted to express herself, everything that almost destroyed her from the inside out.

She thinks about Jupiter and Neptune, about how her heart flutters for them, about how kind they are to her, in their own ways. She thinks about them and smiles wide, and hopes she never forgets feeling the way she does right now. She hopes they come back to the booth very soon because all she wants to do right now is be with them, to joke around with Neptune and hold hands with Jupiter, and each second spent without them feels like time wasted.

Finally, the bell over the front door rings, and Venus turns her head, smiling in anticipation to greet Jupiter and-

Oh.

Oh no.

Not only are both of the boys that just walked in not Jupiter, they’re boys Venus knows. Boys she hasn’t seen in a long while, not since she’d been forced to share a cabin with them at a Scout camp a few years back. But the worst part isn’t that she recognizes them.

The worst part is they recognize her.

Oh no, no, no.

Panic wraps itself around her body like a thick rope, coiling tight around her and squeezing her, strangling her. She immediately turns around, trying to lower her head, clutching at the hem of her dress and pressing her knees tight against each other, hoping against hope that they didn’t actually notice her, or what she was wearing. Hoping that maybe, just maybe, they’d leave her alone.

But, of course, they did recognize her, and of course, they’re not going to just let her be. Why did she even let herself hope? Fate has always been out to get her. Or, at least, something like it.

“...Venus?”

And that’s the last word she hears before the panic absolutely engulfs her. After that, each sentence out of their mouths gets muddled as it passes through the cocoon of anxiety and alarm around her, but their raw intent reaches her intact. It’s confusion first, then a few moments of silent thought, then realization. Then it’s questions like, “What the hell happened to you?” and “Is this some kind of joke?” and after that all the words just become more and more gut-wrenching and awful. It always hurts the most when it’s coming from someone you know.

Venus closes her eyes and crosses her arms, her hands clutching her biceps so hard it hurts, squeezing, squeezing, squeezing. She’s trying so hard to hold herself together, to hold it in, but her constitution fractures under the pressure and she begins to leak. She can feel it between her shoulder blades, pushing, pushing, pushing. Her head pounds and her thoughts race until they all blend together into raw, wordless, screaming pain. Her grasp finally goes slack and in her mind everything goes white, burning and blinding, and all she knows is that it hurts, hurts, _hurts_.

Slowly, small dots of light begin to appear in the parlor, one by one, until the whole place looks like a night sky speckled with hundreds of stars. The two boys suddenly go quiet as they start to notice, and they turn around to watch the rest of the parlor light up, their motions slowed by confusion and apprehension. Soon it’s so bright they have to squint to see, and at that point they turn back to Venus to see her staring at them with eyes like headlights piercing through dark, pained and desperate and crying through her hands as her hair grows out and long, pale feathers begin to sprout from her back.

Realization rapidly seizes the boys, and one manages to sputter out, “Y-you’re the fucking devil!” while the other pulls a radio out of his jacket pocket and switches it on. It crackles and buzzes, then part of it ignites into blue-white flame and Venus recoils, her eyes suddenly so bright that it hurts to look into them. Squeezing their own eyes shut, they ready themselves to attack, assuming the battle stances they’d practiced until it became as natural as breathing. The boy with the radio points the burning end at Venus and begins to whisper an incantation, the fire burning bigger and bigger as he recites, and just as he’s about to unleash the cleansing fire, the other boy suddenly wonders why it had to be this way; why they had to do this to Venus.

A fist hurtles into the chanting boy’s cheek, knocking him to the ground in an instant. His radio clatters across the floor, its flame whimpering to extinguishment without any words to fuel it. The other boy yelps an expletive and stumbles back, only for another hand to latch around his ankle and trip him onto his ass.

The two of them open their eyes again and look up to see a swarm of hands at the parlor’s entrance. It’s a swirling, writhing mass of not-quite-flesh, a churning thundercloud of arms, slamming against the ceiling, knocking down chairs, scraping and clawing at the floor. At the eye of this billowing storm stands Jupiter, her hair tossing this way and that and her expression caught somewhere between panic and fury. The boys meet her severe gaze through the chaos of hands and lights, and despite the cacophony of crashing, scratching, and smashing, they can hear the command she issues as clear as God’s voice:

“Leave.”

One of the boys lunges for the radio, but before he can get to it another hand appears out of nowhere and smashes it to bits. He looks up at Jupiter again, with hostile yet terrified eyes, then looks back at Venus, still in the booth. Her eyes are searchlights now, impossible to look at directly, and her wings have sprouted in full, great spans of weeping eyes and pale feathers. Then he sees the rear exit by the bathroom, and makes up his mind.

There may be nothing to fear when there’s two against the devil, but what the hell are they supposed to do when there’s two devils against them?

He rushes back to his feet and sprints to the back of the parlor, charging through the door and into the darkness. The other boy picks himself up and scrambles after him, looking back at Venus with confusion and terror in his eyes as he disappears into the night.

As soon as the door closes behind them, Jupiter rushes to Venus, the tangle of restless arms around her shifting its form. The hands that strike, scrape, smash, all evaporate into a fine red mist, letting the hands that hold, stroke, squeeze, stretch free from underneath. Venus slips out of the booth, slowly staggering towards her. They connect and embrace, Jupiter’s head notched under Venus’ chin and her many hands holding her body close, running through her hair, cradling her wet cheeks.

More hands run over the length of her wings, massaging them and wiping them dry around the eyes, and as the fingers knead the feathers, they start to fall away. Her plumage scatters slowly off her wings and dissolves into soft little flashes of light before hitting the ground, and the extra lengths of hair follow suit. Venus manages to close her shining eyes, including the ones on her wings, which disappear as they shut. The lights around them dissipate into the parlor’s fluorescent glow, and the wind calms into a lull, and soon enough her wings are gone, as well as Jupiter’s extra hands. In the soft light and the silence, Jupiter squeezes her girlfriend tight, and Venus cries quietly into the unkempt tangles of her hair.

Suddenly the bathroom door swings wide open and Neptune steps out, griping, “You two would not _believe_ how loud they play the music in there, it’s-”

She sees the broken radio on the floor, the upended chairs, Venus trembling softly in Jupiter’s arms.

“Shit, what did I miss?”

  


With the heavens at last free of the sun’s overwhelming glare and the earth spared from its tyrannical heat, the moon has emerged from under the dispersed light of day, and with her came all of the gorgeous, glittering stars. They’d always been there, of course, but they couldn’t even see their own light until the sunlight that obstructed and obfuscated their beauty was driven away by the night. Now, disburdened, they twinkle so sweetly above the world, basking in the placid darkness.

The moon is full tonight, shimmering like a clear pond.  Her silvery light beams soft into the dark, melding into the murky black of the night sky until the horizon is awash in a pale and tranquil indigo. The clouds from the east draw nearer and nearer, slowly blanketing the planet below. Neptune figures they’ll be overhead by midnight, watching the sky from the backseat as she runs her fingers gently through Venus’ hair, whose head rests on her lap.

Staring quietly at the back of Jupiter’s seat, Venus stews in her emotions. When the car turns onto a side street and the glare of streetlights grows dim, she reaches for Neptune’s free hand, clutching it to her chest as though it were the only thing keeping her from sinking into the darkness.

Jupiter’s sedan pulls into Neptune’s driveway, and the girls all make their way inside. Soon the three of them are huddled up on the couch together, cuddling under a blanket and watching some old anime from the nineties.

At first, Venus stays quiet. She doesn’t hum along to the theme song, doesn’t point out any subtle character details, doesn’t want to talk about it because really, she’s fine, she promises. They all know she’s not fine, but Jupiter’s too tired to focus on anything and Neptune simply isn’t saying anything about it right now.

After a few episodes, the discomfort in the air has thinned some; Neptune and Venus start playfully arguing over which characters would date each other, and Neptune smiles when Venus finally starts giggling again.

“You’re kidding yourself if you think Sailor Charon would even be able to ask Sailor Phobos out in the first place, she’s way too wishy washy,” Neptune scoffs.

“I’m just saying! I think they’d be pretty cute together, is all. I guess you’re right about her and Sailor Hyperion though, they do complement each other really well.”

“Of course I’m right, I know my Sailor Luna. Don’t even get me started on how much gay shit those two get up to in the next season, it’s unbelievable. They even got away with--”

Suddenly, a hand appears in the air and starts idly pawing at Neptune’s startled face for a second or two, then disappears.

Peeking over Venus’ head, Neptune says, “Jupes, what was -- are you asleep? Is she asleep?”

“Yeah, she fell asleep an episode or two ago.”

Another hand materializes, this time in the middle of the room, waving at nothing until it fades.

“Then what the hell is up with these things?”

Venus looks over Jupiter’s face, at her bottom lip’s occasional twitch and her eyes rolling under their lids. “I think… I think she’s dreaming?”

“Wait, is that a thing? It better not be. If I wake up one day and my room’s turned into a swimming pool I swear I will march back down to hell and punch the devil. Is it really a thing?”

“I-I don’t know! I didn’t get any instruction manual either.”

“Whatever. Don’t bother trying to wake her up, it’s impossible. Let’s just take her to the bed.”

They pick Jupiter up together, minding the step that separates the hardwood tile from the carpet and carrying her down the hall as more hands start poking at them and nudging picture frames askew. The two of them slowly lower her into Neptune’s bed and tuck her in, and Venus takes a minute to put away anything that could be knocked over onto the floor. On their way out, a hand grabs Venus’ ass and she lets out a startled yelp and doesn’t stop blushing for minutes, much to Neptune’s wicked delight.

The two of them cuddle up together on the couch again, Venus’ legs strewn over Neptune’s under the blanket, her head resting on Neptune’s shoulder while they watch the Sailors fight the new monster of the week. It’s started to rain outside, the patter of droplets on the roof and windows soon growing loud enough that they can barely hear the tv, so Neptune turns it off and sets the remote aside.

They sit quiet for a moment, holding one another in the darkness. Venus holds on a little tighter now.

Finally, Neptune talks. Her voice is calm and low now, the tone she uses when she puts all of her sharp edges away. Venus hasn’t heard her use it with anyone but Jupiter and herself. It’s soothing, like a bath after a long, rough day. It makes her feel more secure than anything else besides Jupiter’s touch.

“You know I’m not going to just let you not talk about it.”

Venus shifts slightly. “Yeah. I know.”

“Why did you wait until Jupiter was asleep?”

Avoiding eye contact, Venus says, “I didn’t want to make her worry more than she already was.”

“She was already pretty worried, V.”

“Yeah, but it would have been worse.”

Neptune is quiet, then says, “You knew them, didn’t you?”

Venus nods. “From… from camp. Before I met you and Jupiter.”

“Were you close?”

“Not really. I mean…” Venus sighs softly under her breath before continuing. “We talked a lot, since we were in the same cabin, but only at camp. After we all went home I just sort of… lost contact with them? And I didn’t actually mind that much. I guess I didn’t really think I was ever going to see them again.”

“Were they assholes back then too?”

“Not really… I mean, they made fun of me a little, maybe, but most people did. And one of them was even nice sometimes, even if he wasn’t really sure how to be.”

“Well, he sure hasn’t gotten any better at it.”

Venus goes quiet again, looking down at her lap, then says, “I’m sorry about all this.”

Neptune’s brow furrows. “Venus, you were doing so well about this until now. You have literally nothing to be sorry for, except for saying sorry when you don’t need to.”

“But… what if I hadn’t worn this dress today? Maybe if I’d just worn one of my old shirts or something, none of that would have happened. Maybe-”

“Maybe if I had worn some raggy sweatpants instead of this skirt, that guy in the theater wouldn’t have spent the whole movie staring at my legs from across the aisle. And maybe if we just stayed in our rooms forever, neither of us would ever get harassed again.” The frustration in Neptune’s expression melts away into concern. “You can’t think like that. All it does is make you blame yourself for what other people do to you. It’s not good for you.” She runs her fingers through Venus’ hair. “And anyways, if you hadn’t worn the dress, would you have enjoyed everything else half as much as you did?”

Venus fiddles with the hem of her skirt. She thinks back to how at ease she’d felt in the theater, how secure she’d felt kissing Jupiter at the parlor, how safe she’d felt cuddling with her and Neptune on the couch. “I… I guess not.”

“And even worse,” Neptune says, a small smirk rising at the corners of her mouth, “I wouldn’t have gotten to see how good that dress looks on you. It would be such a shame if my excellent taste in gifts went to waste.”

A smile returns to Venus’ face. “Thank you, Neptune. For the dress, I mean. And for everything else, too.”

“Don’t thank me for the dress yet, you still owe me for that, remember?”

“Oh!” Venus’ cheeks flush bright pink. “Y-yeah, I, um. I remember.”

As she curls one of Venus’ golden locks in her fingers, Neptune raises her eyebrows and asks, “Do you think paying me back might… help take your mind off things?”

Venus wouldn’t be able to break eye contact with Neptune right now even if she wanted to. “I… I think it would, yeah.”

Neptune cradles Venus’ chin in her hand, grinning ear to ear. “Say please”

Venus looks back at her with indignation, pouting as she asks, “Am I really that much fun to tease?”

“Yes, yes you are. Now say it.”

Venus sighs, then gives in, but “Plea-” is all she gets out before Neptune interrupts with her lips.

Once, when she was younger, Venus saw a peculiar kind of octopus on a nature show. It was a deep-sea octopus, and in place of suckers, it had little lights all along its tentacles. When threatened, it would flash them to scare off unwanted company, and it would use those same lights to hunt for food, too. Smaller organisms, drawn in by the luminescence, would drift closer and closer, too captivated to notice the octopus’ tentacles surrounding them until they were already totally enveloped.

Venus thinks she may now know what it’s like to fall prey to such a creature. Neptune’s kiss is enthralling, almost mesmerizing, so much so that by the time Venus realizes she’s on her back Neptune is already wrapped around her, straddling her thighs, one hand notched into the small of her back and the other lost in the tangles of her hair.

The quiet of the night makes every little sound seem louder. The room echoes with the light smacks of lips against lips, the shuffle of clothes and skin against the fabric of the couch. There’s the occasional whimper from Venus, and Neptune’s satisfied “Mmm”-ing and “Ahh”-ing, and outside the rain has picked up, clattering heavily against the roof above.

In this moment Venus is completely and totally at Neptune’s mercy. She’s usually so scared of being vulnerable like this, of being rendered defenseless against a world that wants so badly to attack her, to abuse her. But right now she feels safe, feels comfortable in her openness because she trusts Neptune not to hurt her. It’s an overwhelming feeling, like something clicking in her head that shows her this is how it should be. She shouldn’t have to be so guarded all the time. She shouldn’t have to keep herself constantly coiled up in self defense because all it’s doing is suffocating her, and now that she can breathe free all she wants is more.

Soon Venus’ heart is pounding, pounding, pounding in her chest like it’s trying to escape from inside her, and her head is swimming so fast she’s getting dizzy. Holding Neptune’s face with trembling fingers, she breaks their kiss and sputters out, “Haaah… haaah… is… is it ok if I…?”

Her hand kneading through Venus’ curls again, Neptune smiles and replies, “Absolutely. I was just about to ask you that myself. Is it ok if I help?”

Venus smiles wide. “Please.”

Neptune chuckles, then gets to work. Holding Venus’ locks between her fingers, she tugs at them gently, and they follow her lead, stretching out, out, out, until they’re longer than her arm can reach. Venus closes her eyes as Neptune does the same with the rest of her hair, and soon her soft, golden-white curls are draped all over the couch, long and lustrous. Then come the wings, stretching wide and free, and then the eyes all along them, gradually peeling open. Light pours out from them as though they were candles adorning an altar, and when all of her other eyes can see, she opens her two brightest eyes, bathing the room in the light of her being.

In turn, she helps Neptune spill forth, humming a familiar song into her ear while waters as clear as glass start to trickle from her. She guides Neptune’s hand to her chest so she can feel how fast her heart is racing for her, her, _her_ , and soon the water is flowing out, seeping into every nook and cranny: the gaps in the couch cushions, the scratches in the floor’s hardwood tiles, the crevices formed at each point where their bodies are touching.  Neptune hums with her now, their ethereal voices resonating together so lucid and lovely, and soon their song is drowning out everything else.

  


Outside, the rain is coming down in sheets, drenching rooftops and flooding streets. Radiant bursts of light flash through the sky again and again, and thunder follows each one, rippling through every puddle, pool, and lake. Through gaps in the clouds, the stars can see their own lights, recreated in each burst of lightning and reflected in each raindrop and river, and they start to sing their own songs, too. The moon gleams amongst them all, basking in the sweet harmonies of her stars, and shines bright into her beloved night.


End file.
